Tailgate for spreading gravel

[/pine]

I have a friend that has an open bodied truck with removable sideboards...there is no tailgate he just uses 2x 10's across the back for hauling gravel...

I have some 1/4 diamond plate and am thinking of fabricating a chain adjustable tailgate that will allow him to spread crusher run...does this sound feasible?

Anyone done anything like this? I know I can have another (commercial) hauler bring me the gravel and spread it but they charge too much IMO...

open to ideas or suggestions...

 

[BoFuller]

I welded some brackets on the sides of mine so that I could do the same. My tailgates open sideways.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Cost too much? We have two dump trucks and live 5 miles from the pit. If we need more than 16 tons its always cheaper to have it hauled versus us doing it.

Our F700 can handle 8 tons. It gets 5 mpg. Figure in time, wear and tare, and three trips in it cost more than our pit bringing it over, upto 25 tons in the quad, for a flat $75 fee inside of 20 miles.

Check around.

Chris

 

[/pine]

Cost...having my friend with the flatbed w/buckboards haul 8-10 tons costs me half of what the local commercial haulers charge...

 

[Diamondpilot]

Cost...having my friend with the flatbed w/buckboards haul 8-10 tons costs me half of what the local commercial haulers charge...

He must be a good friend and doing it for nothing or the haul charges in your area are crazy expensive.

In my area a single upto 8 tons is $45

Tandem and tri's are about $60

Quads are $75 and can haul 25 tons.

Those prices are 20 miles or less.

Chris

 

[5picker]

I guess I don't understand the original purpose?
If the truck is just a flatbed with 'buckboards' how do you plan to dump/spread it?
Even if you make a tailgate with chains you'd still have no real way of 'spreading' it unless you could shift the load to the rear which is usually accomplished by raising the dump bed as you move along.
I guess 'maybe' you could accelerate real fast and hope for the best.

 

[/pine]

I guess I don't understand the original purpose?
If the truck is just a flatbed with 'buckboards' how do you plan to dump/spread it?
Even if you make a tailgate with chains you'd still have no real way of 'spreading' it unless you could shift the load to the rear which is usually accomplished by raising the dump bed as you move along.
I guess 'maybe' you could accelerate real fast and hope for the best.

The truck has a dump bed...just not the typical "dump truck" superstructure w/ top pivot gate...

The buckboards are made up with 2x12's...will also need to increase the height of them...

 

[Verticaltrx]

I have a friend that has an open bodied truck with removable sideboards...there is no tailgate he just uses 2x 10's across the back for hauling gravel...

I have some 1/4 diamond plate and am thinking of fabricating a chain adjustable tailgate that will allow him to spread crusher run...does this sound feasible?

Anyone done anything like this? I know I can have another (commercial) hauler bring me the gravel and spread it but they charge too much IMO...

open to ideas or suggestions...

Anything that you can put across the back to make a fixed width opening will work. The width of the opening will be more or less how thick the gravel is spread depending on how fast you drive. What BoFuller has looks like it should work well. One other thing to consider is if the truck has the right type of hoist to dump while moving. You need to have either a PTO hoist with separate PTO/Hydraulic controls, or an electric hoist. The type with the PTO/hydraulics controlled by one knob would be very difficult to use to spread gravel.

Cost too much? We have two dump trucks and live 5 miles from the pit. If we need more than 16 tons its always cheaper to have it hauled versus us doing it.

Our F700 can handle 8 tons. It gets 5 mpg. Figure in time, wear and tare, and three trips in it cost more than our pit bringing it over, upto 25 tons in the quad, for a flat $75 fee inside of 20 miles.

Check around.

Chris

That is pretty cheap, around here it's about a $100 hauling fee to get a 16 ton tandem load delivered. I'm about 7mi from the quarry and at 8-9 tons a load I will often haul it myself with my C60. After fuel, wear and tear, etc I still figure I make/save about $30/hr. If I need more than 30tons or so I'll have it delivered. One thing about hauling it myself is that I can dump it and spread it at my leisure, can get it into places the big tandems never could, and don't have to wait to be fit into their schedule.

 

[Oliver1655]

An other option for occasional use would be to raise & fasten the bottom 2x12 a 2x4's height off the floor. then while loading/hauling fill the gap with a 2x4. Remove the 2x4, start spreading while raising the bed. It may not give you a super smooth spread but will save you the time & material for building a tailgate you may only use once in a while. (Be sure to re-enforce the 2x12s to take the weight of the rock when you lift the bed.)

 

[crazyal]

What size truck is it? Anything less than a dually 1 ton I would think it's not going to haul enough to make it worth while. I can get about 5 1/2 yards into my 2 1/2 ton IHC dump that weights about 18k. I've heard anywhere from 3000 to 4000 lbs per yard for gravel. Just food for thought. I agree with Diamond that it's usually cheaper to get it delivered but at times I want to fix sections (like potholes) that aren't big so it's nice to have it in my truck where I can use just what I need per hole and move to the next.